Chinese and Comparative Philosophy 中國哲學與比較哲學

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CFP: Education and the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement

This is a call for submissions to a special issue of the journal Educational Philosophy and Theory, which will be edited by Liz Jackson and Timothy O’Leary of the University of Hong Kong.

The Umbrella Movement, a student-led series of protests, occupations and collaborations across different social groups, has permanently altered the social and political landscape of Hong Kong. In marked contrast to the depoliticized, capitalist orientation that predominated in the public sphere in the past, the Umbrella Movement is marked by youth performance of alternative values of collaboration, accountability, and communitarian care. Participants in the Umbrella Movement, both students and educators, are finding new ways to nurture experiential learning in student-authored contexts, in contrast with the teacher- and test-centered education historically customary in Hong Kong. Resistance to the conservative political values of Hong Kong, that preclude local youth democratic participation in revising and reshaping the society, lies at the heart of this movement.

This Special Issue of Educational Philosophy and Theory examines the Umbrella Movement as not only a political movement, but also an alternative form of education that is framed by student resistance and the desire by young people to reclaim their cultural, social, and political world.

Topics for exploration include:

How are Hong Kong youth attempting to reshape and revise the aims and means of local education, through creating new spaces, identifying new questions, and developing new partnerships with educators (at secondary and/or higher education levels)?

How has education (curriculum, pedagogy, etc.) influenced the political and social development of young people in Hong Kong, equipping a new generation to teach and learn as part of political participation?

How can educators and young people in Hong Kong work together to enhance values and ideals of students (such as empathy, local pride, creativity, inclusivity) despite competing priorities, such as professional neutrality of educators, or generational cultural and ideological divides?

How has Hong Kong become more polarized as a result of the Umbrella Movement, and what role(s) can education have in enhancing diversity’s value for productive, creative, more inclusive decision making and governance for Hong Kong’s future?

How is the Umbrella Movement experiential learning? What is being learned, how, and by whom?

How do legal transformations intersect with the movement away from Hong Kong’s prior core values of social stability and rule-abidance, toward empowerment, resistance, autonomy, and ownership?

What should the role of education and institutions be as students and young people attempt to transform their society’s identity and core values?

Other possible topics related to education, philosophy, and the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement are welcome.

Submission Instructions

Schedule

28 February 2015: Deadline for abstract submission

30 April 2015: Notification of acceptance of abstract

31 October 2015: Deadline for full manuscript submission

Please submit your abstract of no more than 500 words, in English, by email to Liz Jackson or Timothy O’Leary. Submissions should include author’s name, title, and affiliation.

Final papers for peer review should be no more than 6000 words in length, including references. Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. A guide for authors, sample issues, and other relevant information is available on the EPAT website. For any questions, contact Liz Jackson or Timothy O’Leary.